Cellular mobile radio or cellular telephone systems have been developed for mobile communications. Typically, the planned service area is divided into a number of geographical areas or cells. The available frequency channels for the service area are divided among the cells. A cellular telephone communicates with a nearby cell base station via one of the several radio frequency channels assigned to the cell. Conventional circuits link the base station to the mobile telecommunications switching office, which switches calls between the cellular telephone system and the rest of the telephone network.
Current cellular telephones gain access to the base station, by transmitting to the base station a series of numbers or characters, specific to the cellular telephone being used. The numbers or characters represent the telephone number of the cellular telephone being used and the manufactures identification number of the cellular telephone being used. The foregoing characters and numbers are checked at the base station to determine if the cellular telephone being used is allowed to use the base station selected and that the telephone number of the cellular telephone being used has the correct manufactures identification number. If the telephone number and manufactures identification number are found to be correct, the base station may further determine if the time elapsed and distance traveled by the cellular telephone from the last cellular telephone call are feasible. If, the cellular telephone traveled a feasible distance in the time elapsed from the last telephone call, the cellular telephone will be connected to the telephone network.
Unfortunately, people using off the shelf electronic receiving equipment are able to intercept and determine the telephone number and manufactures identification number of cellular telephones, while the telephone number and manufactures identification are being transmitted at specific radio frequencies to the base station. During, 1993 United States Cellular Telephone companies lost approximately three hundred ninety four million dollars ($394,000,000.00) from the unauthorized use of cellular telephone numbers and manufacturers identification numbers. It was estimated that the unauthorized use of cellular telephones will cost United States Cellular telephone companies six hundred million dollars ($600,000,000.00) during 1994. The expected increase in cellular telephone usage is likely to cause the above figure to be higher each successive year.
Cellular telephone companies currently record and collate telephone calls by telephone numbers. The telephone companies then charge the person or entity that was assigned the telephone number for all telephone calls made using the assigned number. The person or entity who was assigned a particular telephone number may or may not have made all of the telephone calls that were recorded for the assigned telephone number. Currently, there is no record that is stored in a cellular telephone that lists all the telephone calls made by that particular cellular telephone.